Fishing has evolved from being a means of human survival in ancient times to being a competitive and recreational sport in modern times. Accordingly, modern anglers spend substantial amounts of time conducting their outdoor fishing expeditions exposed to the elements, but do so with some minimal expectation of comfort and convenience. This is particularly true when it comes to ice fishing, a known cold weather endeavor.
In the experience of this inventor, ice shelters have long been combined with seats or seating arrangements. This is old art. However, seating arrangements of the prior art have not been designed or constructed such that the position of the seats could be easily or conveniently changed. In such devices, the seating is typically accomplished by a series of bolted brackets and frames that support a seat and that bridge the storage space either between and/or behind the seats. While some of the seats can be removed or repositioned, such is not done easily or quickly, and the frame always remains. This results in a decreased ability to access the base and its storage space. In some instances, access to the base storage space is not even possible. In another seating device that simply uses a standard open head pail that is turned upside down, there is a lack of stability. Obviously, there is also a lack of comfort during extended periods of sitting.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and useful ice shelter modular seating system that provides convenience and comfort. It is another object of the present invention to provide such a system that requires no permanent hardware to attach the components of the system together. It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a system where seats of original equipment manufacture (OEM) can be readily attached and easily moved to various positions, including being added to or removed from the system. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such a system that does not interfere with storage space and access to the base behind and between individual seats. And it is still another object of the present invention to provide such a system that is relatively simple in construction, that is lightweight for ease of use and transportation, and that can be made from a minimal number of elements.